Alex was interested in participating in the tournament.
No, he didn't have any interest in being a Hero. That was the last thing he wanted. To live under surveillance for the rest of his life was something he could never allow.
He was interested in the tournament because of other reasons. For example, it was a great place to test his physical strength and learn new techniques. Having more experience in close combat wouldn't do him any harm.
At the same time, he could learn in-depth about the abilities of the nine great tribes. That would help him defend against them in the future.
Besides that, he could also use the tournament in his favour. He could scout talented individuals to work for him. If he could find a dark horse among the contenders, that would allow him to expand his business even further.
With a strong warrior guarding the front gate, most problems would solve themselves. Alex doesn't need to solve all the problems himself.
Alex's thoughts wandered without limits.
Silently they had walked quite a distance. And that was when Alex noticed a group of people approaching him. It was a group of four individuals. They were Thee, Kanal, Poka and Charam.
They were the peer of Alex who awakened with him. Thee was one of the most talented youngsters in the stone head tribe. And the remaining three were no pushovers, all of them had already reached tier 3 in strength. Thee had already reached the peak of tier 3. They were already as strong as the chief of the tribe.
Their talent was significantly better than the previous generation. So, the villagers considered them the generation that would revitalise the stone head tribe.
'They might be returning from the training ground.' Usually, Alex doesn't interact with anyone. Other than the kids, he didn't bother talking to anyone. If there was no reason to talk, he wouldn't talk. He was not a big fan of small talk.
So, his relationship with his peers was not that great. Occasionally they trades pleasantries, that was the best he would do to maintain the relationship.
And now, meeting them would have made no difference if not for Charam's involvement. Like usual, he was the first to notice Alex and wave his hand.
"Hey!" Charam called out to Alex.
'Shit! I need to learn some kind of invisibility technique.' Alex wanted to avoid them like usual. But that thought was crossed out the moment Charam waved at him.
Now, he has to waste time and say some pleasantries. It was a chore that he disliked.
"Hey! Hai Charam," Alex waved back.
But before he could think. The group approached him and surrounded Kalina. They were looking at her curiously.
Although Alex treats her like a nuisance, Kalina was a beauty that could turn heads. Everywhere she went, she would get noticed by the people. The same could be said for the young warriors of the Stone head tribe. They curiously gazed at the beautiful princess wondering who she was.
The only girl in the group, Kanal was the one that didn't get any butterflies in her stomach after seeing Kalina. But it didn't mean she was not mesmerised by Kalina's beauty. She too walked in circles around Kalina and observed her. As a girl herself, she wanted to find the secret of her beauty.
"Meru! Who is this!" Charam asked.
"Someone from the blue gem city. You might know her as the princess of the ice phoenix tribe." Alex explained.
Hearing that, the group became even more excited.
Meru! Do you have something wrong with your head? Someone from the blue gem city. Is that how you introduce the Princess of the ice phoenix tribe to us? They thought simultaneously.
"Princess Kalina of the ice phoenix tribe. One of the top 10 beauties of the current generation! She is also a tier 4 warrior!" Charam exclaimed. He never doubted Alex's words. The person before him was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. She must be Princess Kalina.
'Top 10 beauties! Was she known like that!' Alex thought.
Alex was amazed to know that these guys knew the name of Kalina. Charam didn't even know how to do basic arithmetic, yet he knew the name of some princess that he never saw before. Alex didn't know what to say.
Besides that, this was not the first time they have met. After escaping from the giant white snake, Kalina met Charam. But at that time, she was wearing Alex's clothes. So, she was mistaken for a man.
How would he react if he knew that?
Even Kalina didn't know what to do with the youths that surrounded her. Although this was not the first time she was experiencing something similar. Most of the time, she would have cast an ice-cold look at the people and ignored them. If nothing worked, she didn't mind intimidating them with her strength.
But this time, she was with Alex. And those who surrounded her were his peers. She didn't want to use her usual tricks to solve the problem. Unknowingly, she was being considerate towards Alex.
"Yes, she is Princess Kalina." Hearing Alex's reply, a seed of jealousy sprouted in the young men's minds. But Charam and Poka swallowed back the jealousy and smiled at Kalina. Thee was the only one that stood frozen by this notion.
A shocking beauty with unparalleled status was walking with Alex. He couldn't bear to think that.
After all, he was better than Alex at everything. He was a stronger warrior. He was much more handsome. He was tall and healthy. And yet, why was Alex being treated as someone special?
Was it because of the farm?
It was just a farm. Anyone could have done that. Thee thought.
But he did well to not express his sour mood outside. No one other than Alex noticed the minute changes in his expression. However, Alex was unbothered by what others thought. So, he ignored Thee.
"Can we call you princess?" Charam asked.
"We are Meru's friends. We awakened at the same time. You can call me Charam. The burly guy standing to my left is Poka. The guy to my right is Thee and she is Kanal." Charam said while pointing at each of them. He didn't forget to quickly introduce himself while at it. After all, this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for him. He might not have a chance to talk directly with Kalina again.
"I don't mind that." Kalina agreed with his request.
'Well! You would soon begin to mind that.' Alex thought in his heart.
"I am Thee, it's nice to meet you, princess. I am the strongest warrior of the younger generation." Thee felt Charam didn't introduce him properly. So, he came forward to introduce himself. He didn't forget to say he was the strongest warrior of the Stone head tribe.
'Strongest?' Kalina doubtfully looked at Alex.
"Yes, he is stronger than me. My smoke screen is not enough to damage him through his stone-hard defence." Alex explained. And Kalina quickly caught on to the truth. Alex didn't give it his all when sparring amongst them.
If you consider pure physical strength, Alex was weaker than Thee. He knew that. And without the abilities of the interdimensional farm, he could only use his trickery to beat him.
And in the sparring match that was conducted inside the tribe, Alex didn't bother to use the skills provided by the interdimensional farm or the tricks up his sleeve. So, he was considered average among the five people. After all, his weapon-wielding skill was also trash level.
Hearing Alex's confession boosted Thee's confidence. A wide smile appeared on his face.
After that, the atmosphere eased among the group. They followed Alex and Kalina to his home. They also decided to participate in the barbecue party.
The food Alex cooks was always tasty, no one in their right mind would reject that. They thought.
While they walked, Kalina and the group talked about many things. Even the upcoming champion's tournament was mentioned by her. She hit it off nicely with Kanal. Alex could see the two battle maniacs talking to each other and giggling. Kalina was sharing her experience in battle with Kanal. And seeing the excited Kanal, she was almost ready to adopt Kanal as her sister.
Everyone looked at her intensely while she was sharing her experience. And most had good intent.
Thee was the only one trying hard to impress Kalina. He was trying again and again but failing perpetually to make her notice him.
Alex sighed seeing the poor guy do that.
After reaching his home, he went out to his backyard to prepare for the barbecue. He had already prepared the ingredient and kept them in the inventory. So, he could use them whenever he needs to.
Taking out the grills he had prepared. Alex lit some charcoal underneath it. He was ready to roast some meat.
Even before he could invite them, the kids had already surrounded him. They were ready to witness the magic of cooking. To them, barbecue was much more tantalising than some princesses. So, the kids surrounded Alex and looked at what he was doing. They were ready to learn the way of cooking from Alex.
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